Toasting-fork.



View of one half-claw.

UNTTED STATES PATENT Unmet.

NIELS ANDREW NIELSEN, OF TIKOKINO, NEW ZEALAND.

TOASTING-FORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,662, dated December11, 1900.

Application filed March 31, 1899. Serial No. 711,822. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NIELS ANDREW NIEL- SEN, a citizen of New Zealand,residing at Tikokino,in the county of Waipawa and Province of HawkesBay, New Zealand, have invented a new and useful Toasting-Fork, (forwhich I have filed an application for patent, No. 10,927, in NewZealand, bearing date August 31, 1898,) of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to forks used for holding slices of bread near afire to toast the same, and belongs to that class of forks by which theslice may be reversed without removing the same from the fork.

The object of the invention is to provide a reversible fork which willsecurely grip a slice of bread, which will hold it in any desiredposition,andfron1 which it may be released with facility.

The construction of the fork is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

My fork comprises a handle, which I prefer to make of twisted Wire witha loop at the end for hanging up and holding the fork. The other end ofthe handle has a cross-bar provided with claws pivoted thereon. Theslice of bread is gripped by these claws and is held in any desiredposition by a hook hinged to a nut screwed onto the handle. The clawsare double, the empty ends being used to withdraw the other claws fromthe toasted slice of bread and to grip the next slice to be toasted.

In order that my invention may be most easily understood, reference willbe made to the accompanying drawings, on which Figure l is a side Viewof the fork with a slice of bread gripped in the claws. Fig. 2 is a planview of the same. Fig. 3 is a side Fig. 4 is a side View of the otherhalf-claw. Fig. 5 is a top View Fig. Fig. 10 is a front Similar figuresof reference indicatecorresponding parts.

Describing the invention in detail by the aid of the drawings, thehandle 1 has a loop 2 at one end and a cross-bar 3 at the other. Theclaws 4 are pivoted upon this cross-bar, the coil 5 of one half partengaging with the coil 6 of the other half part, as shown in Figs. 2, 5,and 6. The two halves of the claws are capable of limited independentrotary movement in respect of each other, and as shown on Fig. l thepoints 7 and 8 are closed to grip the slice of bread 11, and the points9 and 10 are separated ready to grip the next slice. The claws upon eachend of the bar 3 may be moved to bring them nearer together, andshoulders 12 prevent them from slipping off the bar. The hook 13isformed of wirehinged onto a nut 14 on handle and forms a catch at theend to hold the slicein any desired position. When one side of the sliceis toasted, the hook 13 is raised, when the slice will fall and presentthe other side to the fire. The nut 14 is now given half a turn, whenthe hook may again catch hold of the edge of the slice, To release thetoast, the points 9 and 10 are brought together if desired, upon a freshslice of bread and the toasted slice of bread will then fall out.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is A toasting-fork comprising a handle having a cross-barat one end, claws made in halves and pivoted on the cross-bar and a hookhinged to a nut on the handle to hold the toast in positionsubstantially as and for the purposes set forth herein.

Dated this 10th day of December, 1898.

NIELS ANDREW NIELSEN.

Witnesses:

J OHN JANNEY BUCHANAN, JAMES MATHEWS.

